Sat.Sep 28, 2013 - Fri.Oct 04, 2013

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10 Entrepreneur Milestones That Make Funding Easy

Startup Professionals Musings

'Every investor expects to see some business traction, both before and after a funding event. If you have been working 20 hours a day, and spent your last dollar, but have no results to show, investors will be sympathetic, but will probably tell you that your dream doesn’t have wheels. Traction means forward progress. I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start.

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Is @AngelList Syndicates Really Such a Big Deal?

Both Sides of the Table

'If you track the venture capital industry it would be hard to miss the conversation going on this week over AngelList “Syndicates.” From the hyperbolic Jason Calacanis weighing in that “The petty VC’s did everything to deride [Naval, the co-founder of AngelList]” as though the industry was collectively s g its pants that AngelList was going to put us out of business.

Syndicate 356
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Initial Conversation with a CTO or Technical Advisor

SoCal CTO

'Are you a non-technical startup founder who’s about to go have a conversation with a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) or Technical advisory type person? Maybe you are going for a reality check on your current situation - wondering if you have a Weak Development Team or a Startup Founder Developer Gap. Maybe you are trying to determine what technologies might apply that you should be evaluating.

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[Singapore][Event] AppHACK Singapore 2013 by AngelHack

YoungUpstarts

'The Singapore chapter of AngelHack – the largest global startup competition and series of hackathons in the world – will be organizing AppHack Singapore 2013 , which looks to gather over 150 Singapore-based software developers and entrepreneurs together where they will create great mobile applications over the span of just 24 hours. To be held at the offices of Microsoft Singapore on 23-24 November, AngelHack Singapore aims to get various judges from Silicon Valley to judge the com

Singapore 159
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Building Healthy Innovation Ecosystems for Your Projects

Speaker: Nick Noreña, Innovation Coach and Advisor, Kromatic

Every startup and innovation project exists within an ecosystem that either helps or hurts that project. As innovation managers, we need to keep a pulse of that ecosystem and make sure we're helping those innovation projects we're managing every step of the way. In this webinar, Nick Noreña will walk through an Innovation Ecosystem Model that he and his team at Kromatic have developed to help investors, heads of product, teachers, and executives understand how they can best support innovation in

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JumpCloud – Jump to the Next Level of DevOps

Feld Thoughts

'Two of the themes we love to invest in are Protocol and Glue. We’ve especially been interested in companies that make software developers and DevOps lives better. Some examples include SendGrid, Urban Airship, VictorOps, Pantheon, MongoLab, and Cloudability. To that end, Raj Bhargava and I created a company called JumpCloud late last year (our eighth venture together).

Bandwidth 127
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Putting an End to the Dark Ages of Local Businesses

Both Sides of the Table

'It’s stunning to me how quickly we take for granted certain conveniences in our lives that go from Eureka to minimum expectation. Take OpenTable. In the old days we used to call a restaurant to book. The hostess worked from 4-10pm so you had to call during these hours. Between 7-10 she was busy seating guests so had to put your on hold. After hours there was the answering machine.

More Trending

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An Epson 3D Vision Of A Projected Future

YoungUpstarts

'Three dimensional representations of visual information, better known as 3D, has been riding on the forefront of technology innovation in recent times. From 3D televisions that were all the rage just four years back (which has but pretty much died down), to the current craze over 3D printing, these new technological methods of stereoscopy utilize the latest of technologies that is only beginning to offer the depth of (virtual) reality promised by computer games decades back.

Singapore 150
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Twitter Link Roundup #198 – Small Business, Startups, Innovation, Social Media, Design, Marketing and More

crowdSPRING Blog

'Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account , I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!

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10 Predictions About the Future of Ecommerce

mashable.com

'Mashable. Mashable. Sign in. Like. Follow @mashable. see more > Search. Social Media. Tech. Business. Entertainment. US & World. Lifestyle. Watercooler. Jobs. More. Channels. Social Media. Tech. Business. Entertainment. US & World. Lifestyle. Watercooler. Jobs. Company About Us Licensing & Reprints Archive. Contact Contact Us Submit News Submit a Bug.

eCommerce 108
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PayPup Wins PayPal’s Battle Hack in Austin

SiliconHills

'By LAURA LOREK Founder of Silicon Hills News Jeff Lindwood, a software developer with Biscotti Labs, loves dogs. He and his wife even adopted one from the Austin Pets Alive shelter. But helping one dog wasn’t enough, he said. He wanted to do more, but he couldn’t adopt any more dogs. That’s where he got […] The post PayPup Wins PayPal’s Battle Hack in Austin appeared first on SiliconHills.

Austin 92
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How To Recruit A Great Designer For Your Startup

David Teten

'ff Venture Capital just invested in Tackk , a new platform which allows you to creatively share anything on the web with no barriers to creation. The editing experience is amazingly simple. Despite the robust capabilities, users can effortlessly create and style their pages without any learning curve. The design DNA of the founding team is obvious the first time you visit the beautiful, super-simple-to-use site.

Design 114
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How Open Should a Startup CEO be with Staff?

Both Sides of the Table

'CEO transparency. It almost sounds uncontroversial. A CEO should tell her staff everything! Right? Right?!? Of course not. It’s a hard topic to write about because it’s almost an accepted norm that total transparency is good. It is not. For starters let me use “CEO” as a proxy to include her “inner circle” which might mean co-founders or might just mean senior execs of the business.

Startup 417
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Start a deal room and keep it current.

Berkonomics

'Maybe you have not heard the term, “deal book.” That’s a comprehensive piece on a company for use by a buyer in determining fit. A “deal room” is an electronic or physical space dedicated to storing the massive amounts of data to be used in due diligence by a buyer, lender or by an investor. Deal rooms contain access to or copies of all significant contracts with suppliers, customers, consultants, and others.

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Book Short: Alignment Well Defined, Part II

OnlyOnce

'Book Short: Alignment Well Defined, Part II. Getting the Right Things Done: A Leader’s Guide to Planning and Execution , by Pascal Dennis, is an excellent and extraordinarily practical book to read if you’re trying to create or reengineer your company’s planning, goal setting, and accountability processes. It’s very similar to the framework that we have generally adapted our planning and goals process off of at Return Path for the last few years, Patrick Lencioni’

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Diverse Startups Can Receive Tech Mentorship And Thrive

ReadWriteStart

About a year ago, Rachel Brooks was poised to bring her startup to the next level. Her company, Citizen Made , which makes tools to help companies sell custom products, won a L’Oréal Women in Digital grant , giving it the funding it needed to open a new office in New York City. Money wasn’t an obstacle for the Chicago-based founder, but as a black woman in technology, networking in a new city might be.

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Oracle Cloud HCM

deal architect

'While Workday and many of the talent management vendors get plenty of analyst attention and will get even more at Bill Kuitk’s HR Tech Show next week, it was good to see Oracle provide its HCM applications a separate track.

Cloud 280
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10 People Who Won’t Be Happy As Entrepreneurs

Startup Professionals Musings

'Some people are not cut out to be entrepreneurs. This is a good thing, or the business world would be chaos, with everyone trying to do their own thing. So what about you? How do you know if you should be running your own company, or concentrating on that queue of work that someone else has built for you? I’ve hit this before, but I still hear from too many unhappy entrepreneurs.

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7 things going against you as a first time entrepreneur #blindpost

Jeff Hilimire

'Embarking on my new startup, Dragon Army , has made me feel like a brand new entrepreneur again. Mainly because building mobile apps for consumers is not something I’ve been directly involved with before. So we’re going to be learning as we go, ala Ender Wiggin from Ender’s Game (you know, where we got the name Dragon Army from). And so this article, 7 things going against you as a first time entrepreneur , really resonates with me today (thanks Joe for the recommendation).

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How to Reduce Your Bounce Rate

Rembrandt Communications

'Why are customers leaving your Website? If you are watching your Google Analytics, you can tell how long your customers are staying on your Web pages and reading the information. If your “Bounce Rate” is high, your customers are not sticking around long enough to purchase your products and services. This is not good. So […].

SEO 210
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Revved up like a deuce

deal architect

'Zach Nelson, CEO of NetSuite was quoted earlier this year about SAP “Larry (Ellison) has them on such a tilt that they don’t know how to think about things.” He meant every little quote from Larry sends SAP into a.

Software 268
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Entrepreneurs Must Measure ROI On Social Media

Startup Professionals Musings

'If you are an entrepreneur today, and not using social media to promote your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. But, contrary to what most people preach, it isn’t entirely free. Most social media outlets don’t require a subscription charge, but they certainly require an investment – in people, in technology, your reputation, and your time.

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[Event] Over 540 Young Entrepreneurs To Converge On Global Startup Youth

YoungUpstarts

'Malaysia will see over 500 youth descend on its capital Kuala Lumpur this October for Global Startup Youth (GSY) , a three-day idea accelerator program aimed at helping young entrepreneurs shape and launch new projects that will hopefully evolve into sustainable global businesses. Held on October 8-11, Global Startup Youth is designed by StartupMalaysia in collaboration with partners including Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance, the US State Department, YouNoodle Inc., UPGlobal, Cradle Fund

Malaysia 180
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Launching FG Angels To Make Investments on AngelList

Feld Thoughts

'This morning my partners at Foundry Group and I announced that we are going to make 50 seed investments of $50,000 each on AngelList between now and the end of 2014. We’ll be doing this via AngelList’s new Syndicate approach through an entity called FG Angel where we will create a syndicate of up to $500,000, allowing others to invest $450,000 alongside anything we do.

Syndicate 164
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Dont BYOD

deal architect

'In the last couple of weeks I have been in meetings where staff have brought every configuration of laptop, tablet, mobile device and we have chuckled about the joys of “Bring Your Own Device” policies. Well, expect a big employee.

Mobile 255
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Are You Ready For The Entrepreneur Lifestyle Move?

Startup Professionals Musings

'Deciding to be an entrepreneur is a lifestyle move, and should be part of a long-term strategic plan. You shouldn’t be making this decision just because you are mad at your boss, you would like to be rich, or someone else thinks it’s a good idea. In these changing times, if you already have a startup, with no plan, maybe it’s time to think ahead for a change.

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[US] Startup Atlanta Looks To Support Entrepreneurial Ecosystem With New Online Presence

YoungUpstarts

'If you’re an entrepreneur based in Atlanta, you may want to check out Startup Atlanta , a non-profit dedicated to making the A known nationally and internationally for entrepreneurship. Founded in May 2013 by Atlanta Technology Angels, Entrepreneurs’ Organization, Invest Atlanta and the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Startup Atlanta has also recently refreshed its website to achieve its aim of helping entrepreneurs connect with one another, as well as get supported by the ecosystem within the gr

Atlanta 173
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Key Questions for Bringing Lean Startup to Established Companies

Startup Lessons Learned

'Guest post by Lisa Regan, writer for The Lean Startup Conference. Our next webcast tackles a particularly challenging topic. On October 8 at 10a PT, we’ll be talking about bringing Lean Startup methods to established companies, precisely the kinds of businesses that are most resistant to experimentation, even as they desperately need it. Eric Ries will be joined by Patrick Vlaskovits and Brant Cooper , co-authors of the NYT-bestselling book “ The Lean Entrepreneur ” and frequent advisers to For

Lean 167
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Oracles Executive Advantage?

deal architect

'I saw this BusinessWeek graph on IBM’s executive suite on the way to Oracle OpenWorld and then had the chance to listen to and spend time in smaller sessions with (in brackets are years they joined Oracle) Mark Hurd (2010), Enterprise Software (IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP) Industry Commentary'

Software 247
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How To Delegate More Effectively In Your Business

Startup Professionals Musings

'For a few, delegating comes easily, maybe too easy. For others who are perfectionists, letting go of even the most trivial task is almost impossible. If you are in this second category, you probably don’t like the references behind your back that you are a “control freak” or a “micro-manager.” London business school professor John Hunt notes that only 30 percent of managers think they can delegate well, and of those, only one in three is considered a good delegator by his or her subordinates.

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Four Of The Most Influential People In Business Technology

YoungUpstarts

'by Morgan Sims. Technology is a booming industry, with Web 2.0, mobile applications, and software creating major opportunities for business leaders. Several up-and-coming business leaders emerged within just the past few years, marking the waves of change in the world of business and technology. Here are four business technology leaders paving the way for future innovators: 1.

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The Imperceptible, But Very Real Boom

Agile VC

'I believe we’re going to look back in 2-5 years and realize that we’ve been in a once a decade boom for internet & software startups. It doesn’t feel much like a boom actually. The macroeconomy has been stuck in a tepid recovery in the US, a period of decelerating growth in emerging markets, and a double dip recession in much of Europe.

IPO 147
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Corporations as the new VCs

deal architect

'I remember a corporate IT exec telling me after he agreed to a meeting in 2000 with the company I had co-founded “I am not supposed to be seen with you. Startups are too risky and a waste of time.

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Pull the Plug or Keep Searching for the Believer? When Fundraising is Tough.

Genuine VC

'My partners and I at NextView talk a lot about how fundraising is about finding the true believers rather than convincing the skeptics. The energy that it takes persuading someone who starts with a bias not to invest is much better suited searching for additional prospects who want to believe in what you’re building. We’ve observed it repeatedly in our portfolio as Founder/CEOs seek additional rounds of financing: the engaged skeptics just never quite get there, but the entrepreneurs who cast

Search 143
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Five Ways Retailers Can Get Noticed In Crowded Online Marketplaces

YoungUpstarts

'By Mike Effle, CEO of Vendio. More and more retailers are discovering that online marketplaces like Etsy, eBay, and Amazon Marketplace can be cost-effective, high-volume sales channels offering exposure to millions of potential customers. But as the popularity of marketplaces increases, so does competition — for example, there are more than 2 million seller accounts on Amazon alone.

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Recreating Law School

Feld Thoughts

'I spend a lot of time hanging around CU Law School. I know it’s a strange place to find a venture capitalist and entrepreneurs, but it happens to be the epicenter of entrepreneurial activity at CU Boulder. I wrote a chapter about this in my book Startup Communities: Building an Entrepre neurial Ecosystem in Your City explaining why and how CU Law has taken a different approach to the engagement of the of a university and the entrepreneurial community.

Colorado 155
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Hurry, hurry

deal architect

'Through September 30, the New Florence blog is at 460 entries for the year, or a 625 annual run. Last year, it clocked 750. Time to try and match that as the clock winds down this quarter. On a flight.

Matching 191